


That's What Friends Are For

by Madifishy



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, I really like Sturges ok, Minutemen, Platonic Cuddling, Sturges - Freeform, institute, kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 04:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11592615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madifishy/pseuds/Madifishy
Summary: Sole comes back from the Institute and struggles to face a decision she has made. Sturges attempts to comfort herSPOILERS





	That's What Friends Are For

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS PERTAINING TO SHAUN

It couldn't be possible. There was no way it could be true. As she stood there on the teleporter platform, she refused to believe it. Could Father really be Shaun?

"Well? How'd it go?" Sturges shouted, eager to get in on all the details. 

She met his eyes and she saw his excitement fade as he realized her sadness. 

"General" Preston yelled, running over to stand next to Sturges, Dogmeat charging along beside him. He practically gleamed at her over the control board. "You did it! You made it in and out of the Institute!"

She took a shaky step down off of the platform, using all her strength just to hold herself upright. "Well?" Preston pressed, "give me all the details. What was it like? Was did you see?" Dogmeat cocked his head, as though he were interested as well. 

She couldn't find her voice, and just shook her head slightly, unable to force out words. 

"Did they confront you? Maybe we should have tried to send backup" Preston noted, probably mentally cursing himself for not sending soldiers to help defend the General. 

"I-I need some time. To clear my head" she said quietly, looking down at her feet. 

"It's important that Sturges and I know what you saw. This intel is crucial to the Minutemen" Preston pressed, desperate to know what she had seen. 

"Preston, not now...please."

He hesitated, but continued to pry. "General, what you saw may have been overwhelming, but I need you to understand that what you gathered on that chip is-"

"I said not now!" She shouted, turning and running away from the teleporter, feeling hot tears already burning in her eyes. Shaun was alive, but why was he working with the Institute? It couldn't be possible. Shaun wouldn't, he would know better. Wouldn't he?

Preston and Sturges exchanged confused and concerned glances and Dogmeat whimpered quietly.

Thoughts crashed through her brain like waves as she forced her way into her house in sanctuary, slamming the door behind her. She sat on her bed, sitting on the side so her feet were flat on the floor. Her head flopped into her hands and her tears ran freely, glistening down her face and dropping off her chin, onto the wooden floor below. 

She couldn't wrap her mind around it. She had put all her efforts into doing whatever was necessary to get her son back. But now, he didn't want to come back. He wanted her to join him. And she said yes. She agreed to assist the Institute. The boogeyman of the Commonwealth. 

Had she made the right choice? She put her own feelings for her son before what was right for the rest of the people she knew. She imagined Deacon's face as she told him that she had sided with the Institute. Imagined Paladin Danse's features fall in shame when she told him. Could practically see the disappointment in Hancock's face when she told him. She didn't want to tell them. 

She was stirred from her thoughts as she felt a gentle weight beside her on her bed, making the mattress squeak. 

"Mind if I keep you company?"

Sturges. He was her best friend. She trusted him more than anyone ever since she met him. They often sat for hours in Sanctuary, sipping Nuka Cola and cracking jokes and telling stories. They stayed up late some nights, reading through Grognak comics, as they shared snacks. 

He felt his comforting hand rub her back and she ran the backside of her hand across her face, trying to wipe away her tears. "I don't mind."

She looked up into his eyes and watched as he registered the hurt in her face. He held open his arms, gesturing for her to lean into him, which she did quickly, desperate to feel his warmth and comfort. She buried his face into his chest, feeling tears once again stream down her face. 

Sturges shifted so he could lean back against the wall, legs on the bed, and hoisted her into his lap, running a hand through her hair as she laid against his chest. He rested his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes. She curled her knees up to her and tried to focus on her breathing to calm herself. 

She found herself lulled into a comforted state by being in close proximity to Sturges. She always had. He was one of the most caring and reliable people she had met ever since she had emerged from the vault. 

"I reckon you might've had a rough go while you were in the Institute?" It was a question, but the way he asked it made it feel more obligatory to answer than necessary. 

She sniffled "I found Shaun. But he's old. Older than me. I don't know how it's possible. He's in charge of the Institute, the people there call him Father. He asked me to join him, to help him. I said yes, I didn't know what else to do. He's my son."

"That sure is a lot to take in" Sturges responded, the tone of his voice revealing that his brain was at work trying to understand everything. He had never been one to press with questions, and he often spent much more time listening than talking. "I understand why that would upset you. Hell, I think it'd upset anyone."

He wrapped his arms around her, taking her hands into his and squeezing them, then massaging them gently. "Do you think you did the right thing" he asked. 

"I don't know. I really don't know" she replied vaguely, sighing. 

"Well I can tell you what I do know", he said gently, tilting her head up to look at her "I'm not one to sit around while a beautiful woman cries. So regardless of what choice you made, I'm here to help and to comfort you." He smiled, and his eyes radiated kindness. 

She pressed her forehead to his chin and closed her eyes. "Thank you, Sturges."

"Of course" he replied pulling her a little closer. They stayed like that for a long time. She didn't know how long, but she knew it was long enough that the light coming through the window had begun to fade and the room had started to grow dark. 

"Want me to turn on a light? I know that you aren't quite a big fan of the dark" he asked, obviously concerned for her comfort. 

"Please."

"As you wish, M'lady" he replied, jokingly tipping an invisible hat, and setting her on the bed while he got up and crossed the room. He flipped the lever on the power box and the stand-alone lamp in the corner of her room lit up, basking the room in a gentle white glow.

Sturges returned to the bed and found her laying down facing the wall. "Tired?" He asked, settling into bed behind her.

"Very."

He cradled her body with his own, desperate to maintain the physical contact that he knew she needed. She yawned, leaning back into him, enveloping herself in his warmth. "Sturges?"

"What'dya need?"

"Can you stay? I don't like sleeping alone."

He nuzzled her head with his chin, rumpling her hair and chuckled, "I've never been one to turn a lovely lady down."

She smiled and reached back, wrapping his arms around her, pulling him as close as she could. She felt herself growing drowsy, and couldn't deny herself the rest she knew she needed. She'd deal with Preston's onslaught of questions in the morning. After all she'd been through, she deserved a good night's sleep, she reminded herself. 

And with that, she allowed herself to be overcome by sleep, the only sound in the room being their gentle breaths filling the small space between each other.


End file.
